Rural mail-box



I :ESTER C. EASTMAN, OF SILVERTON, OREGON.

RURAQE MAIL-BOX.

. Appiicati'ohified Aprilmae, 191s. lserial Nofaais.

To all whom t may concern:

"Beit known that' I, LESTER C. EASTMAN,

` of' which' the following is afspeciication.

' This invention' is an improved rural mail' box,"thefob]ect of "the yinvention being to provide 'an' improvedmai'l box embodying a topdoor,'a`side'd`o'or 'and connecting means between the doorswherebyth'e'top'v door and the side/door are "both enabled" to Abe eitherAopened orclosed' simultaneously, and where# by when both doors are openthe entire interior of the Ibox is exposed to the mail carrier withoutbeing exposed to the weather.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved mail box ofthis character which is simple in construction, is strong and durable,and which can be made of galvanized sheet iron or other suitablematerial.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved stamp andcoin cup for use in connection with the mail box and which can bereadily tilted and caused to drop coins therefrom into the palm of thehand.

Vith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of devices hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings z- Figure 1 is a vertical transversesectional view of a rural mail box constructed and arranged inaccordance with my invention, showing the doors in closed position infull lines and in open position in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a detail of the stamp and coin lily improved rural mail boxmay be made of galvanized sheet iron or other suitable material and maybe made of any size or shape desired. As here shown the box comprises abottom 1, a back 2, end walls 3, and a fixed inclined top 4, whichcovers one-half of the box. The other portion of the top is formed by adoor 5 which is hinged at its upper edge to the upper edge of the top 4as at 6, and said hinged top door is provided near its pivotal edge witha semi-tubu- Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Maine, 1920.

lar portion 7 which serves to protect the ridge of the topor roof of thebox and to prevent rain from entering lbetween the top l and thetop door5. At its ends the top door is provided with downwardlyextendingtriangularlaps S whichare arranged on the innersides of'and inspaced relation to the Walls 3 kof the box and in effect forni operatinglevers for the top door. The said door is also provided at'its free edgewith 'its' centrally arranged handle 9. The front lside of the Ibox isformed by afdoor 10 which `isfhir'lgedat itslower edge as at 11.

which 'are' arranged in the ends of the box Rods connect the levers S oithe top door with front door 10 each of said levers having a bent rearend portion 13 which passes through' and engages in an opening of one ofthe levers S and also having a bent front end portion 14 which isarranged to turn in bearing l5 on the inner side of the front oor.

l/Vhen the top is turned upwardly to open position by means of thehandle 9 the levers 8 thrust the rods 12 forwardly and cause said rodsto turn the front door 10 outwardly and downwardly and to arrange thefront door in horizontal, open position, as indicated in dotted lines inFig. l and to maintain the same in such position, so that the entireinterior of the box is exposed to the view of the carrier and thatcarrier is enabled to easily place mail matter in the box or remove thesame therefrom. When the door is in lowered, .open position, the pivotalconnection l2EL between t-he rod 12 and the lever 8 is substantially inline with the pivot 6 of the top and the pivotal connection 12b betweenthe rod and the door 10. Hence the rod and the lever coact with the doorl0 to hold the top in raised position, the top and its lever eoact withthe rod to limit the downward movement of the door and maintain the doorin open position, the weight of the door and the levers causing the topto be held in such open position. When the top door 5 is turneddownwardly to closed position the levers 8 which move therewith draw therods 12 rearwardly and hence said rods raise the front door to avertical, closed position as indicated in full lines in Fig. 1, so thatthe top and iront doors are both caused to move simultaneously either toan open or to a closed position ,p and hence onlya single movement, isrequired v on the partof the mail carrier to open or f close the box asmay be required.

Inone end ofthe-'box I arrange a cup'16` which serves to hold stamps,kcoins and the like. This cup has a flat verticall wall'or side 18 whichis connected to one end of the Awall by. a box 19 which in practice maybe a rivet and which is located above the* vertical center of the coincup so that the coin cup by its own gravity normally remains in verticalposition. The coin cup is open on the upper side and has a mouth 17which extends diagonally and forms an inclined overhang at the innerfront corner of the cup so that when the cup is tilted forwardly on itspivot, the diagonally extending. and overhanging mouth serves to dropcoins lor the like from the cup into the palm of the hand held under thecup. v

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention, I would have it understood that changes may be made in theform, proportion and con- `'struction of the several parts, without departing from the spirit of myV invention and within the scope of theappended claim.

Having .thus'described my invention, what I claim as new is:

' A mail box of the class described comprising a bottom, a back andpeaked ends,

an inclined top member secured to the ends and back and covering onehalf of the box, a top 'door' 'pivotally connected at its upper edge tothe upper edge of the xed top meinfber, a semi-tubular projection on thedoor covering the upper vedge of the fixed member, downwardly andrearwardly extending flaps connected with the top door and lying withinthe box when the door is in closed position, a front door hinged at itslower side to the bottom and rods connecting the

